CybercrimeEvery day millions, in some cases billions of dollars, are earned by businesses thanks to the income deriving from the online sale of products and services. As businesses continually develop and expand their customer base with online products and services, the desire for criminals to exploit vulnerabilities in their e-commerce setup also increases. The mass growth of Internet usage worldwide over the past 20 years has been “from approximately 16 million users in 1995 to approximately 2,937 million in March 2014.” As the importance of e-commerce increases, so does the need to protect the technological infrastructure that transacts online for every business regardless of its size. I will try to highlight and review the history of some cyber crimes to show the progression of crimes over the last 30-40 years. I also intend to examine the impact of cybercrime on the economy and consumers. Finally, I will strive to help gather information on how to reduce the risk of a cyberattack from a single user to a large-scale enterprise. The term "hacker" has been in use since the early 1980s due to the use of mass media to describe cyber criminals. The use of this term is widely used by the general population and most are not aware that there are several meanings of the word. People within the computing community, particularly within the programming subculture, emphasize the use of the term "cracker" for cybersecurity intruders (cyber criminals). Early hackers rarely used their skills for profit as a motivation for their criminal behavior. At the time, cybercrime was infantile and was largely seen as a joke or game by those who committed it. Bob Thomas created the first credited computer worm n...... middle of paper...... 1). A brief history of hacking. . Retrieved from http://www.neatorama.com/2006/08/28/a-short-history-of-hacking/#!PVPc25. Titan Rain. (2013, January 1). . Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_Rain6. What are Titan Rain attacks?. (2013, January 1). . Retrieved from http://www.wegilant.com/what-are-titan-rain-attacks/7. The economic impact of cybercrime and cyber espionage. (2013, January 1). . Retrieved from http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-economic-impact-cybercrime.pdf8. Horbury, A. (2013, January 1). Cybercrime takes its toll. . Retrieved from http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/cybercrime-takes-its-toll9. http://www.symantec.com/about/news/resources/press_kits/detail.jsp?pkid=norton-report-201310. Protect me from cyber attacks. (n.d.). . Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/how-do-i/protect-myself-cyber-attacks